Quick coupling apparatus on instrument handle

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an apparatus for use with an instrument handle, the apparatus including a housing, a knob receivable in the housing, the knob having a key hole structure to receive an instrument bulb and neck, a slot in the housing to receive the knob, wherein the knob is pressed into the slot to facilitate installation and removal of the instrument bulb and neck.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of parent U.S. application Ser. No.15/453,664, filed on Mar. 8, 2017. The entire disclosure of the priorapplication is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments described herein include a coupling apparatus to hold andrelease a variety of interchangeable instruments.

BACKGROUND

Coupling apparatuses that couple instruments to handles may haveproblems such as bending and breaking of internal components such as apin, or an instrument getting stuck in a coupling. Some problems mayoccur when a hammer hits a handle when there is no resistance on a frontof an instrument. Inertia and the design of parts may allow the parts tomove in an unwanted decoupling direction. Also, a small coupling areacan lead to permanent deformation in the contact area.

SUMMARY

A brief summary of various embodiments is presented below. Somesimplifications and omissions may be made in the following summary,which is intended to highlight and introduce some aspects of the variousembodiments, but not to limit the scope of the invention. Detaileddescriptions of embodiments adequate to allow those of ordinary skill inthe art to make and use the inventive concepts will follow in latersections.

Various exemplary embodiments are related to an apparatus for use withan instrument handle, the apparatus including a housing, a knobreceivable in the housing, the knob having a key hole structure toreceive an instrument bulb and neck, a slot in the housing to receivethe knob, wherein the knob is pressed into the slot to facilitateinstallation and removal of an instrument.

The apparatus may further include at least one spring, and at least onespring support attached to the knob configured to compress and releasethe at least one spring.

The release of the at least one spring may place the knob into lockedposition.

The compression of the at least one spring may place the knob into openposition to facilitate installation and removal of the instrument.

The slot may be cylindrical.

The knob may have the shape of a rectangular cuboid.

The knob may have rounded edges to fit within the cylindrical slot.

The knob may include a milling groove to prevent unwanted decoupling ofan inserted instrument.

The housing may have a height and the knob may be pressed into the slotbelow the height in order to install or remove the instrument.

The housing may be configured to receive a replaceable instrument havinga bulb, neck, and shaft.

The key hole structure may include an instrument receiving portion, andan angled coupling surface to couple with an instrument.

The coupling surface may have a circular shape configured to receive aneck of the instrument on greater than one hundred eighty degrees of acircumference thereof.

The apparatus may include a plurality of drain holes formed in thehousing.

The plurality of drain holes may be formed on a side of the housingopposite to a mounting direction of the knob in the housing.

The knob may include a pressing spot having a concave surface.

The housing may include a pin hole configured to receive a pin in adirection perpendicular to a mounting direction of the knob in thehousing.

The housing may include overhanging portions to prevent the instrumentfrom rotating when coupled to the apparatus.

Various exemplary embodiments are also related to a method of using ahousing having a height and a knob inserted therein to lock aninstrument into place, including pressing the knob below the height ofthe housing to allow removal and installation of an instrument tip, andreleasing the knob to lock the instrument tip into place.

The instrument tip may be received into a key hole structure of thehousing, the key hole structure having an instrument receiving portion,a coupling surface, and a milling groove.

The method may include shifting the knob from a first position to asecond position to lock an instrument into place, wherein in the firstposition a neck of an instrument is substantially within the instrumentreceiving portion and in the second position the neck of the instrumentis substantially within the coupling surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Additional objects and features of the invention will be more readilyapparent from the following detailed description and appended claimswhen taken in conjunction with the drawings. Although severalembodiments are illustrated and described, like reference numeralsidentify like parts in each of the figures, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a quick coupling apparatus onan instrument handle in accordance with embodiments described herein;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a housing of the quick couplingapparatus in accordance with embodiments described herein;

FIG. 3 illustrates a bottom view of the housing in accordance with FIG.2 ;

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the housing in accordancewith FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of the knob in accordance withembodiments described herein;

FIG. 6 illustrates a cross sectional view of the quick couplingapparatus having a housing with inserted knob in accordance withembodiments described herein;

FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a knob in accordance withFIG. 5 ;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of one end of a replaceable instrumentthat may be used with the quick coupling apparatus disclosed herein;

FIG. 9 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a bulb and neck in lockedposition in accordance with embodiments described herein;

FIG. 10 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the quick couplingapparatus with a knob in locked position in accordance embodimentsdescribed herein;

FIG. 11 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the quick couplingapparatus with a knob coupling an instrument neck to a coupling surfacein locked position in accordance with embodiments described herein;

FIG. 12 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the quick couplingapparatus with a knob and instrument bulb in open position in accordancewith embodiments described herein;

FIG. 13 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the quick couplingapparatus with a knob and instrument bulb in partially-locked positionin accordance with embodiments described herein;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the quick coupling apparatus in adirection of instrument insertion in accordance with embodimentsdescribed herein; and

FIG. 15 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the quick couplingapparatus demonstrating impact forces upon the knob in accordance withembodiments disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood that the figures are merely schematic and arenot drawn to scale. It should also be understood that the same referencenumerals are used throughout the figures to indicate the same or similarparts.

The descriptions and drawings illustrate the principles of variousexample embodiments. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled inthe art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although notexplicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of theinvention and are included within its scope. Furthermore, all examplesrecited herein are principally intended expressly to be for pedagogicalpurposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of theinvention and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furtheringthe art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to suchspecifically recited examples and conditions. Additionally, the term,“or,” as used herein, refers to a non-exclusive or (i.e., and/or),unless otherwise indicated (e.g., “or else” or “or in the alternative”).Also, the various embodiments described herein are not necessarilymutually exclusive, as some embodiments can be combined with one or moreother embodiments to form new embodiments. As used herein, the terms“context” and “context object” will be understood to be synonymous,unless otherwise indicated. Descriptors such as “first,” “second,”“third,” etc., are not meant to limit the order of elements discussed,are used to distinguish one element from the next, and are generallyinterchangeable.

Numbering of components is generally performed with newly introducedparts initiating a new reference numeral being used. In some drawings,to prevent over-numbering, component parts from previous drawing figuresare carried over into later drawing figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a quick coupling apparatus 100on an instrument handle 110 in accordance with embodiments describedherein. The quick coupling apparatus 100 includes a housing 120 intowhich a knob 130 has been inserted and coupled. The instrument handle110 may have a proximal end adjacent the quick coupling apparatus 100and a distal end at a far end from the quick coupling apparatus 100. Ahammer or other striking instrument (not illustrated) may be appliedagainst a strike cap 115 at the distal end of the instrument handle 110to drive an instrument coupled to the quick coupling apparatus 100 in adirection of the strike. The handle 110 may include a main portion 140that is overmolded with a silicone covering or the like for grippingpurposes. The main portion 140 may extend through the covering and beconnected to the housing 120 of the quick coupling apparatus 100 by aweld or other method. The housing 120 may be a casted metal piece madeof aluminum or similar metal or alloy. The housing 120 may include aninstrument opening 150 configured to receive and release any one of aplurality of interchangeable instruments including chisels, files,knives, mallots, bone curettes, elevators, or the like. As illustratedin FIG. 1 , the knob 130 protrudes from the housing 120 in a lockedposition.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the housing 120 of the quickcoupling apparatus 100 in accordance with embodiments described herein.The housing 120 includes a connecting rod 245. The connecting rod 245 isinserted into the main portion 140 of the handle 110 which is thenwelded to the housing 120. The shape or cross-section of the housing 120is larger towards the connecting rod 245 and tapers to become narrowercloser to the instrument opening 150. The wider portion of the housing120 is configured to receive the knob 130 of sufficient size to coupleinserted instruments to the housing 120. The narrower portion of thehousing 120 includes overhanging portions 255. The overhanging portions255 are rounded on external sides thereof and flat on internal sides.The internal flat sides of the overhanging portions 255 couple with flatsections of an instrument to prevent the instrument from rotating whencoupled to the quick coupling apparatus 100.

External features of the housing 120 include several teardrop orwaterdrop surface shapes 225 a and 225 b through which several apparatuselements are received. Through the first waterdrop shape 225 a ismanufactured a slot 210 to receive the knob 130 as described herein.Through the second waterdrop shape 225 b is a pin hole 235 positioned onone side thereof. As described in embodiments herein, after the knob 130has been inserted into the slot 210, a pin will be inserted into the pinhole 235 to prevent the knob 130 from being removed from the housing120, thus capturing the knob 130 in the slot 210 and being able tocouple an instrument to the quick coupling apparatus 100.

FIG. 3 illustrates a bottom view of the housing 120 in accordance withFIG. 2 . Embodiments described herein provide for ease in cleaning thequick coupling apparatus 100 without having to remove an inserted knob130 from the housing 120 or removing the quick coupling apparatus 100from the handle 110. On one side of the housing 120 are manufactured aplurality of drain holes 310 a and 310 b. The drain holes may bedesigned and manufactured to have various shapes such as circles 310 aor elongated ovals 310 b, but are not limited thereto and may take onvarious shapes to achieve the given purpose. The drain holes 310 b maybe curved to correspond to a cylindrically shaped slot that is formed inthe housing 120. The drain holes 310 a may correspond to springs thatwill be described below. The drain holes and other gaps between the knob130 and the housing 120 also permit the quick coupling apparatus 100 tostay fastened to the instrument handle 110 for cleaning or reprocessing.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the housing 120 inaccordance with FIG. 2 . The housing 120 includes the slot 210 extendinginto the housing 120 in a first direction into which a knob 130 isinserted. The slot 210 may have a cylindrical shape. The slot 210extends into but not completely through the housing 120. The slot 210includes a first slot opening 412 into which the knob 130 is inserted.The slot 210 includes a second slot opening 414 through which a receivedinstrument bulb, neck, and shaft of a replaceable instrument will bereceived to couple to the knob 130. At one end of the housing 120 is theinstrument opening 150 in which the instrument is initially mounted. Theinstrument will pass through and be secured within a channel 416disposed between the second slot opening 414 and the instrument opening150. The slot 210 may extend in a first direction that is the directionin which the knob 130 is received in the slot 210. The channel 416 mayextend in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the firstdirection to receive the instrument.

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of the knob 130 in accordance withembodiments described herein. The knob 130 may generally have a shape ofa rectangular cuboid with four walls. The knob 130 may include an upperportion 505 adjacent the four walls and a flat lower surface 510opposite the upper portion 505. The upper portion 505 of the knob 130may be round, rectangular, or other shape to facilitate pressing theknob 130 into the slot 210. The knob 130 may be a casted metal piecemade of aluminum or similar metal or alloy. The rectangular cuboid shapeof the knob 130 provides space between the four walls and thecylindrical slot 210 in order for water, liquids, debris, and smallparticles to pass through the quick coupling apparatus 100 for ease ofcleaning. The upper portion 505 of the knob 130 may include an indentedconcave pressing spot 515 that a user may press to facilitate coupling,uncoupling, and removal of an instrument to the quick coupling apparatus100.

Because the slot 210 has a circular cylindrical shape, the knob 130 mayinclude four rounded corner portions 520 respectively connecting thefour walls to allow the knob 130 to fit and slide within the slot 210.The rounded corner portions 520 enable a small amount of contact surfacebetween the knob 130 and the slot 210 to provide more free space by thenon-contacting areas to enable cleaning of the apparatus. The topsurface 510 of the knob 130 includes a rim 511 configured to surroundthe pressing spot 515 and connect to the four rounded corner portions520 of the knob 130. The rim 511 may include several portions includinga first flat portion 512, a curved portion 513, and a second flatportion 514 substantially perpendicular to the first flat portion 512.Though illustrated as separate, the first flat portion 512, curvedportion 513, and second flat portion 514 are generally formed of onecontinuous piece of casted metal.

Embodiments described herein are configured to provide many openingsbetween the knob 130 and the housing 120 to allow water, other liquids,and debris to pass through the knob 130 and housing 120 for cleaning andreprocessing of the quick coupling apparatus 100. On one wall 522 and anopposing wall (not illustrated) there are formed oval shaped wideopenings 523 to take up most of the area of the wall 522 and opposingwall. Adjacent the wall 522 is another wall 524 including a pin slot 524a and a spring groove 524 b that are separated by a spring support 530.The spring grooves 524 b are positioned in the middle of the knob 130,equidistant from the wall 522 and opposing wall thereof. The wideopenings 523 may provide spaces for water and other particles to flow.The pin slot 524 a may guide the knob 130 into and out of the slot 210around a pin (illustrated in FIG. 10 ). The pin is inserted through thepin hole 235 of the housing 120 and into the pin slot 524 a. The pinwill abut a pin contacting portion 530 a of the spring support 530. Whenpressing the pressing spot 515 to insert or release an instrument, thepin slot 524 a of the knob 130 will slide up and down around the pin.The pin is held in position by the tight fit into the housing 120 by thepin hole 235.

Because the walls 522 and 524 and opposing walls thereof are flat, thequick coupling apparatus 100 includes significant space between thewalls and the cylindrical slot 210 for water, liquids, and other debristo pass through when cleaning. This ease of cleaning allows the cleaningprocess to be performed without removing the knob 130 from the housing120, and without removing the quick coupling apparatus 100 from anadjoining handle.

An opposite wall (not illustrated) from the another wall 524 includesanother spring groove 524 b beneath another spring support 530. Abovethe spring support 530 on the opposite wall is an irrigation hole 535 toallow liquids and debris to pass through when cleaning or reprocessing.Inside the knob 130 are portions of a key hole structure 560 including acoupling surface 564 and large angled surface 564 b configured to lockan instrument in place as described herein.

FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the quick couplingapparatus 100 having a housing 120 with an inserted knob 130 having arectangular top portion in accordance with embodiments described herein.The upper surface 605 of the knob 130 may have a generally rectangularshape or other polygonal shape that may be used for similar purpose asrecognizable to one skilled in the art.

FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a knob 130 in accordancewith FIG. 5 . This view illustrates the key hole structure 560 throughwhich an instrument bulb and neck (instrument 800 illustrated in FIG. 8) may be inserted. The key hole structure 560 includes three sectionsincluding an instrument receiving section 762, the coupling surface 564,and a milling groove 768. The milling groove 768 in the knob 130prevents translating a forward movement of the instrument 800 into adecoupling movement of the knob 130. On either sides of the key holestructure 560 on opposing wall portions are disposed the spring supports530. Springs (illustrated in FIG. 10 ) compress and release against thespring supports 530 to insert, couple, and release instruments from thequick coupling apparatus 100. Atop the knob 130 is the pressing spot515. As illustrated, the pressing spot 515 may have a concave shape,indented inwards from the first flat portion 512 of the rim 511. Thepressing spot 515 may have a depth on the order of 0.5 mm.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of one end of a replaceable instrumentthat may be used with the quick coupling apparatus 100 disclosed herein.On one end of the instrument 800 is a bulb 810, a first angled surface810 a, an angled ridge 810 b, a neck 815, a shaft portion 820, and asecond angled surface 820 a. The instrument 800 may be removably mountedinto the key hole structure 560 of the knob 130. The instrument 800 maybe one of a variety of replaceable chisels with varying heads. Theinstrument may also be one of a plurality of replaceable files, knives,mallots, bone curettes, elevators, or the like or other replaceableinstruments that may be struck with a hammer or other blunt instrumentas understood by one skilled in the art.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8 , the key hole structure 560 is configured toreceive an end of a replaceable instrument 800. The coupling surface 564is configured to receive a neck 815 of the instrument 800. Asillustrated in FIG. 14 , the coupling surface 564 further includes asmall angled surface 564 a, a large angled surface 564 b, and a flatsurface 564 c. When the bulb 810 of the replaceable instrument 800 isinserted through the channel 416 and through the second slot opening414, the neck 815 of the instrument securely rests atop the couplingsurface 564 of the knob 130. Locking of the instrument 800 into positionand prevention of unwanted decoupling is done by coupling of the firstangled surface 810 a of the bulb 810 and large angled surface 564 b ofthe coupling surface 564. When in position, the bulb 810 of theinstrument 800 will be disposed on one side of the knob 130 and theshaft portion 820 will be on an opposite side with the neck 815 in themiddle of the knob 130 resting on the coupling surface 564. According toembodiments described herein, coupling of an instrument 800 by the knob130 may be in direction substantially perpendicular to a hittingdirection on the distal end of the instrument handle 110. As a result ofperpendicular coupling and a contact area formed between the couplingsurface 564 b and the first angled surface 810 a, an instrument does 800not get stuck in the quick coupling apparatus 100 due to sizing and doesnot release from coupling during free strikes to the distal end of theinstrument handle 110.

Further prevention of decoupling is performed by the milling groove 768The milling 768 groove prevents unwanted pure downward forces (asillustrated in FIG. 15 ) on the knob 130, when a chisel or otherinstrument is struck by a resistance free hammer blow, and preventsunintentional decoupling of the instrument.

FIG. 9 illustrates an enlarged cross-sectional view of a bulb 810 andneck 815 in locked position in accordance with embodiments describedherein. In order to securely hold a neck 815 of an instrument 800 inposition with the knob 130, the coupling surface 564 including the largeangled surface 564 b may have a circular surface configured to receivethe bulb 810 including the first angled surface 810 a on greater thanone hundred eighty degrees of the circle caused by the coupling surface564. This distance of greater than 180 degrees of the coupling surface564 increases a contact area to offset a reduced contact area created bythe milling groove 768. A combination of the enlarged contact area andmilling groove prevents uncoupling and/or deformation of the instrument800 during resistance free blows from a hammer or striking instrument tothe distal end of the instrument handle 110.

FIG. 10 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the quick couplingapparatus 100 with a knob 130 in locked position without an instrumentinserted in accordance embodiments described herein. Taken along crosssectional lines A-A′ in FIG. 1 , the knob 130 having the key holestructure 560 is illustrated in a locked position before an instrumenthas been inserted or after an instrument has been removed. When thequick coupling apparatus 100 is in locked position, the knob 130protrudes from the housing 120. Illustrated in FIG. 10 are spaces of theslot 210 in which the knob 130 may move, spring supports 530, springs1033, a pin 1040, and the pin slot 524 a. Pressing the pressing spot 515by a user allows the rim 511 of the knob 130 to slide back and forthwithin the slot 210. The pin 1040 may prevent unwanted rotation of theknob 130 when loading or unloading an instrument 800, or when there isno instrument 800 present. The spring supports 530 may be attached to orintegrally formed with the knob 130 and interact with the springs 1033.When a user presses the pressing spot 515 to load or unload aninstrument, one or two springs 1033 that have been installed in thequick coupling apparatus 100 will compress. When the pressing spot 515is released, the spring or springs 1033 will expand, pushing the knob130 to extend in a locked position protruding from the housing 120. Asingle spring in one spring groove 524 b or two springs in two springgrooves 524 b may be used to raise and lower the knob 130. Thus the knob130 may be releasably positioned within the slot 210.

During initial assembly, once the springs 1033 are compressed, the pin1040 is inserted into the pin hole 235 in the housing 120 to align withthe pin slot 524 a. The pin 1040 may include two diameters, a narrowerportion to be inserted first followed by a wider portion to help holdthe pin in place. The pin 1040 may be sized in this manner to make pressfitting of the pin 1040 easier. Once the pin 1040 is inserted, the knob130 may be released such that one of the spring supports 530 abuts thepin and prevents the knob 130 from being pulled out of the slot 210. Thedistance from the pin 1040 to the coupling surface has beenpredetermined such that when the spring support 530 abuts the pin 1040,the neck 815 of the instrument 800 is securely held within the housing120. During manufacturing the pin 1040 is press fitted and welded to thehousing 120.

FIG. 11 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the quick couplingapparatus 100 with a knob 130 coupling an instrument neck 815 to thecoupling surface 564 in locked position in accordance with embodimentsdescribed herein. For simplicity, the pin and springs are not shown.FIG. 12 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the quick couplingapparatus 100 with a knob 130 and instrument neck in open position inaccordance with embodiments described herein. FIG. 13 illustrates across-sectional view of the quick coupling apparatus 100 with a knob 130and instrument bulb in partially-locked position in accordance withembodiments described herein.

A method of using the quick coupling apparatus 100 is described hereinwith reference to the accompanying figures. According to embodiments, toinitially couple or release an instrument 800 that has been coupledwithin the quick coupling apparatus 100, a user may push the pressingspot 515 of the knob 130 from the locked position protruding outside thehousing 120 as illustrated in FIG. 12 into the housing 120.

According to the design of the quick coupling apparatus 100, the entiretop surface 505 of the knob 130 is pushed completely into the housing120 in order for the instrument receiving section (762 illustrated inFIG. 7 ) of the knob 130 to align with the second slot opening 414 ofthe slot 210 and channel 416. To accomplish this, as illustrated in FIG.12 , the entire rim 511 and pressing spot 515 is pushed a distance Dinto the slot 210. A distance D may be, for example, 0.5 mm into theslot 210.

An instrument cannot be released or inserted, as illustrated in FIG. 13, if the first flat portion 512 of the rim 511 is only pushed to beflush with a flat portion 1312 of the housing 120. If this occurs, thencorners 1370 between the coupling surface 564 and the instrumentreceiving section 762 will block or impede the removal or insertion ofan instrument 800. Thus, embodiments described herein include thecorners 1370 as a safety feature to prevent unintended release of aninstrument 800. If the knob 130 is pressed against a flat surface thatonly presses the first flat portion 512 of the rim 511 flush with thehousing 120, but not completely pushed into the slot 210, bulb 810 andfirst angled surface including the first angled surface 810 a and theangled ridge 810 b of the instrument 800 will be engaged by the corners1370 and the instrument cannot be removed.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the quick coupling apparatus 100 ina direction of instrument insertion in accordance with embodimentsdescribed herein. As illustrated in FIG. 14 , the coupling surface 564of the knob 130 may have a contour with a plurality of different shapesto accommodate an inserted instrument 800. The coupling surface incross-section may include the small angled surface 564 a, the largeangled surface 564 b, and the flat surface 564 c that connects the smalland large angled surfaces 564 a and 564 b. The small angled surface 564a may abut the opposing angled surface 820 a of the instrument shaft820. Locking of the instrument 800 into position is done by the firstangled surface 810 a of the bulb 810 and the large angled surface 564 bof the coupling surface 564. The flat surface 564 c may couple with anopposing flat surface of the instrument neck 815.

Due to the angle of the small angled surface 564 a and the large angledsurface 564 b, when the strike cap of the handle 110 is acted upon, aforward movement 1410 in the direction of the arrow of the instrument800 is translated onto the knob 130 into a forward movement and a radialmovement.

FIG. 15 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the quick couplingapparatus 100 demonstrating impact forces upon the knob 130 inaccordance with embodiments disclosed herein. When a strike cap 115 ofan instrument handle 110 is acted upon, due to the reduced contact areaon the knob 130 created by the milling groove 768, there is no puredownward movement of the instrument 800 within the quick couplingapparatus 100. FIG. 15 illustrates a plurality of force lines 1510acting in a radial direction upon the coupling surface 564 including thelarge angled surface 564 b. Because of the milling groove 768, there areno pure downward force lines in the force group 1510. Radial movement ofthe knob 130 is prevented by the housing 120. The remaining forcesreflected on the instrument 800 do not exceed the combination of staticfriction between the coupling surface 564 and instrument 800, and theforce of the springs 1033 pressing the knob 130 into a locked position.Thus the milling groove 768 assists in the stabilization of aninstrument 800 mounted within the knob 130 of the quick couplingapparatus 100 and an instrument 800 does not decouple if there is aforward movement or force placed on the instrument.

According to embodiments described herein, the quick coupling apparatus100 with handle offers an easy to use, easy to clean, safe and effectivecoupling mechanism for instruments. The quick coupling apparatus 100with handle may be operated with one hand while a user's other handinserts or releases an instrument. The design allows ease of cleaning,not requiring disassembly of the quick coupling apparatus from a handle,nor the knob 130 from the housing 120.

Although the various embodiments have been described in detail withparticular reference to certain aspects thereof, it should be understoodthat the embodiments described herein are capable of other embodimentsand its details are capable of modifications in various obviousrespects. As is readily apparent to those skilled in the art, variationsand modifications can be effected while remaining within the spirit andscope of the embodiments described herein. Accordingly, the foregoingdisclosure, description, and figures are for illustrative purposes onlyand do not in any way limit the embodiments described herein, which isdefined only by the claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus configured to receive aninstrument handle having a bulb with a first diameter and a cylindricalneck with a second diameter, a first end connected to the bulb, and atapered second end, wherein the second diameter is less than the firstdiameter, the apparatus comprising: a housing; a knob receivable in thehousing, the knob having a key hole structure; and a slot in the housingconfigured to receive the knob, wherein: the knob is pressed into theslot to facilitate installation and removal of the instrument handle;and the key hole structure comprises an instrument receiving sectionwith a third diameter, the instrument receiving section being configuredto receive the bulb having the first diameter, and a coupling surfacesection with: a first tapered surface configured to engage the taperedsecond end of the neck, and a circular inner edge configured to engagethe cylindrical neck and, the circular inner edge having a diameterwhich is less than the third diameter.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,further comprising: at least one spring; and at least one spring supportattached to the knob configured to compress and release the at least onespring.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the release of the at leastone spring places the knob into a locked position.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein the compression of the at least one spring places theknob into an open position to facilitate installation and removal of theinstrument.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the slot iscylindrical.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the knob has fourwalls and an upper portion adjacent the four walls.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 5, wherein the knob has rounded edges to fit within thecylindrical slot.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the knobcomprises a milling groove to prevent unwanted decoupling of an insertedinstrument.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing has aheight and the knob is pressed into the slot below the height in orderto install or remove the instrument.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, theapparatus being configured to receive the instrument handle, wherein:the first end of the cylindrical neck is tapered, and the couplingsurface section has a second tapered surface configured to engage thetapered first end of the neck.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, whereinthe circular inner edge of the coupling surface section is configured toreceive the cylindrical neck of the instrument on greater than onehundred eighty degrees of a circumference of the cylindrical neck. 12.The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of drain holesformed in the housing.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein theplurality of drain holes is formed on a side of the housing opposite toa mounting direction of the knob in the housing.
 14. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the knob includes a pressing spot having a concavesurface.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing includes apin hole configured to receive a pin in a direction perpendicular to amounting direction of the knob in the housing.
 16. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the housing includes overhanging portions to preventthe instrument from rotating when coupled to the apparatus.
 17. A methodof using an apparatus according to claim 1 to lock an instrument handleinto place, wherein the instrument handle has a bulb with a firstdiameter and a cylindrical neck with a second diameter, where the seconddiameter is less than the first diameter, the method comprising:pressing the knob into the slot to facilitate installation and removalof the instrument handle; and releasing the knob to lock the instrumenthandle into place with the key hole structure, wherein the couplingsurface section of the key hole structure engages the cylindrical neckof the instrument handle.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein theinstrument handle is received into the key hole structure of thehousing, the key hole structure having an instrument receiving portion,a coupling surface section, and a milling groove.
 19. The method ofclaim 18, comprising shifting the knob from a first position to a secondposition to lock the instrument handle into place, wherein in the firstposition the cylindrical neck of the instrument handle is substantiallywithin the instrument receiving portion and in the second position thecylindrical neck of the instrument handle is substantially within thecoupling surface section.
 20. An apparatus configured to receive aninstrument handle having a bulb with a first diameter and a cylindricalneck with a second diameter and a tapered end connected to the knob,where the second diameter is less than the first diameter, the apparatuscomprising: a housing; a knob receivable in the housing, the knob havinga key hole structure; and a slot in the housing configured to receivethe knob, wherein: the knob is pressed into the slot to facilitateinstallation and removal of the instrument handle; and the key holestructure comprises at least two non-coaxial sections having differentdiameters, including a circular instrument receiving section configuredto receive the bulb having the first diameter, and a coupling surfacesection with: a circular inner edge configured to engage the cylindricalneck; and a tapered surface configured to engage the tapered end of theneck.